Class 4A, 3A and 2A state volleyball rankings — Week 7

There are certainly no sure things, although I feel pretty good about the teams I’ve got ranked in each of the top three classifications — Bellarmine Prep, Southridge and Burlington Edison. Those jive with the Coaches Association rankings, too (not that those have a great deal of influence on mine, to be honest). I’ve had Bellarmine and Southridge at the top all season, although West Valley of Yakima started No. 1 in 2A.

At any rate, the “shocker” last week was Kentridge’s 3-2 victory over Kentwood, which had been cruising along and had shot up to No. 2 after an earlier win over Emerald Ridge. The Conquerors were even in PrepVolleyball.com’s top-100. No longer. Kentridge started the season 0-7, but has been playing better as of late and that win over KW was a third straight — followed by a 3-0 loss to Auburn Riverside.

As far as the rankings go, it’s the time of the season where it’s difficult to make huge changes based on a single match, because you have to keep the bigger picture in focus.

I probably dropped Kentwood farther than I should — down to No. 8. I’ve bumped ER back to No. 2 — even though the Jags lost that 5-setter to KW earlier in the year. The two could meet again for the SPSL championship — IF each wins their division, and that’s no given. The Conquerors close out the regular season Oct. 29 against Auburn Riverside, which moves up to No. 4 this week.

I considered putting AR at No. 2, but they did lose 3-1 to ER a month ago. I gave Newport some consideration, too, but the Knights have lost to Kentwood. Why not Central Valley, like in the coaches’ poll? Well, CV lost to Mead last week. The Panthers also knocked off University, so appear to be playing very well right now.

You can check out the actual 1-10 below, so I won’t go over each one. But note that Lake Stevens is up to No. 7 after a 3-2 win over Jackson, which still stays in at No. 10. Lake Stevens has a another big match Tuesday against Snohomish, which could well be back in the rankings next week.

In 3A, Seattle Prep lost 3-1 to Eastside Catholic, which then lost 3-1 to Holy Names — which had lost to Prep the week before. Gotta love that Metro League. What to do there? Well, the Panthers have been the most consistent during the season, so I’m sticking with them, although the drop from fourth to seventh. Mountlake Terrace gets a spot after beating Meadowdale last week (and also having a solid showing at the Anacortes tournament, splitting with U-Hi, the eventual champion).

The 2A match of the week was No. 3 Selah against No. 4 West Valley of Yakima, this one a CWAC counter. Selah had prevailed in an earlier nonleague match, but this one went to West Valley, 3-3. I’ve just flip-flopped those two behind B-E and Tumwater.

Ridgefield beat R.A. Long last week, so takes the No. 8 spot, and Washington is rewarded for their win over former-No. 7 Sumner, jumping back in the top-10 at No. 9. East Valley of Spokane had a big week with wins over Colville and Colfax, so lands at No. 10.

It should be another great week of volleyball, so get out and watch some!